Stillers-Seahawks Postgame Analysis and Grades

September 19, 2011 by Still Mill

Stillers 24, Seahawks 0 ��� Sep 18, 2011

Stillers
24, Seahhawks0� ��. Sep. 18, 2011 ����Game #2

Stillers-Seahawks Postgame Analysis and Grades

After
last week�s embarrassing asswhipping at the hands of
the PoeBirds, the Stillers hosted the jayvee Seattle Seahawks,
the NFL version of Appalachian St.��� The
Stillers had their way with the hapless Hawks, toying with them and cruising to
a cake-easy 24-0 win.��

Grades:

QB:� On paper, Ben had a decent game, going 22 of
30 for 298, 1 TD, and 0 INTs.�� On paper.�� In reality,
he missed a host of easy passes to wide open receivers, and had an easy INT
dropped on a wretched pass on the 1st play of the 2Q.� Just about every misfire sailed well high of
the mark.�� On his defense, Ben took a
wicked shot to the knee on the completion to Miller in the 2Q, resulting in an
incredibly rare roughing the passer flag, the first I can recall involving Ben
in 2 years.��� Ben was in obvious pain,
and the horrific replay looked as though Ben was done for the season.�� Ben hobbled off, and 2 plays later, he was
back in the field.�� He also absorbed a
low blow after a WR screen pass early n the 3Q, and of course there was no
flag.��

�� Batch subbed for Benji, but on 2d & 3d
and goal, was not permitted to pass the ball on either play.�������� B+

RB:� Socrates Mendenhall is another fellow who
looked okay on paper, gaining 66 yards on 19 carries and a TD.�� He did manage to make something out of
nothing on a few carries.�� But he
enraged me with his incessant tip-toeing and delaying on goal plunges.� The game�s 1st drive was stopped on downs,
particularly because Socrates was stuffed on 1st and 4th downs inside the
1.�� When it comes to short yardage, this
guy is the anti Marcus Allen, with no nose or instinct to simply knife, slice,
dive, vault, or barrel for the 1st down or TD.��
Rather, he treats these runs exactly as he does a routine 1st down run
from midfield....stuttering, delaying, and looking to break �the big run�.����

��� Fortunately, Isaac Redman got a goodly
amount of work, and showed a rather dim-bulbed staff
exactly what he is more than capable of doing.��
Red rushed for 49 yards on only 10 carries, including a gem of a 20-yard
TD scamper.�� He also churned out some
tough yardage. And quite clearly, Redman is the better runner in short-yardage
situations.��

��� Moore saw some PT on 3rd downs and had 1
grab for 9 yards.���� A-�

FB: David Johnson got
some snaps at FB, as did starting RG Doug Legursky in
several goal-line situations.��� Johnson struggled quite a bit today.�� He had a poor lead block on the stuffed 4th
& goal from the 6-inch line.�� He
then had a shit block attempt on the SS on Red�s run at 6:05 2Q.�� Leggo had a poor
lead block as well on the 4th & G run from the 6-inch line.���� C-�

WR:� Wally again led the way with 8 grabs for 126
and 1 TD, that on a fade-lob pattern.�
Wally toyed with the lowly Hawk secondary, getting no chuck and just
stealing candy from a baby.�� Wally made
a spectacular grab on a deep ball in the 3Q, catching
an �upside down snow cone� just a few inches off the ground on a deep lob.��

Ward
and Brownie each had 4 grabs.� Ward made
a superb grab on a 3D sideline pass in the 3Q, somehow managing to get both
feet IB.�� Brown had a good pluck of a
high 3D pass in the 4Q.�

Sanders
had 2 grabs for 44, mostly due to superb RAC on an early 3d & 2 that gained
30 yards.� He also threw a perfect pass
under extremely heavy pressure on an end-around gimmick play, which hit Ward in
stride for a 15 yard gain.��� Sanders
also held on for the catch on a crosser in the 2Q, after which he was blistered
with an obvious �leading with the helmet� hit by the DB that went totally
unnoticed by the refs.�

Yancey
Cotchery again did not play, due to a balky
hamstring.������� A+�

TE:� Miller had a solid day,
grabbing just 1 pass for 16 yards down the s-line on the play Benji was
injured.� He dropped a tough, but
catchable pass in the 1Q.� Miller had a
good, sustained block later in the quarter, enabling Mendy to bounce wide right
for a 9-yard gainer.� �Heath was forced into the assaholic
sidecar blocking duties on obvious passing downs on 3 occasions.��� B+�

OL: An uninspiring day
for this crew, although they were starting a rookie making his first NFL start,
plus LG was being manned by Ramon Foster with Chris Kemo not dressing due to
injury.�� To their credit, Gilbert and
Foster acquitted themselves adequately.��

Gilbert
had some struggles.� He got totally
abused by Brock on a spin move in the 2Q, and to make matters worse, tried to
cover up for his boner with a leg-whip/trip attempt that fortunately was not
flagged.�� Ben was injured on this play,
however.��� On his defense, Gilbert was
singled out by the bumbling broadcast crew for a 2d & goal sack in the 1Q,
in which the SS blitzed off the corner and nabbed Ben.��� Neither Anthony Munoz nor Tony Boselli could have blocked a DB on a blitz from that
situation.��

Foster
had a superb pull and block on a ground play in the 2Q, picking off 2 defenders
and leading the way for Red�s 20-yard TD run.�
Foster had a solid all-around game, which begs the question � why in the
hell was an average journeyman like Piss Kemoeatu lavished with such huge money this past
offseason?�� Kemo is no better than
Foster.��

Jon
Scott was flagged for a hold -- on a running play no less � in the 3Q, and on the next play, was bullrushed
and rudely shoved aside by Clemons for a sack.��
He allowed numerous other pressures, and rest assured,
this guy is going to cause Ben to exit a game on either a stretcher or a golf
cart.��

Legursky was flagged for a needless, dirty clipping
penalty on a screen pass to Socrates.��� Very stupid, and really, shamefully Raider-like.�� Essex got some time at RG on the goal-line
plays that Leggo played at FB

Pouncey seemed to play better this week.������ Overall, there was a lot of leakage on
running plays and a lot of non-blitz pressure on the QB.��� B-�

DL:� The D-line, which last week spent more time
on its back than a Las Vegas prostitute, played considerably more
stout today.�� Granted, they were
facing the youngest O-line in the NFL, but at least they weren�t getting
manhandled and mauled.�� Keisel had a
good pressure in the 2Q, and on the next play had a bat, although it was
negated by a false start flag.�� Hood and
McClendon got decent PT, and McClendon was very active in his limited
time.���� B+

LB:� Facing such a feeble offense, this crew was
rarely tested or taxed, but at least they were a damn sight better than last
week�s stenchfest.��

Timmons
led the crew with 5 solos and 3 As.�� Harrison was a lil�
more active than last week, although still not up to his DPOY standards,�� He whiffed on Tate on a WR screen in the
3Q.� He got a coverage sack in the 4Q.���

Taunto
Farrior played ok.��� He was abused by
Eddie Williams � a FB, no less � on a short pass, in which Taunto whiffed on a
simple tackle attempt, resulting in a 17-yard gain.�� Foote got a goodly amount of PT and had 4
solos and a Dong Sack.��

The
$61M, Big LaMarr Woodley, had yet another humdrum game.�� Big LaMarr finished with 2 solos and 2 As, and really, had no more impact than Larry Foote or
William Gay.�� He did miraculously fight
off a solo block early in the 3Q for a 2-yard loss, although Aaron Smith blew
up the cutback lane, which is where this play is designed to go.�� That was it.�� On a WR screen in the 2Q, all Big LaMarr did
was titty-joust, never disengaging.�� He then got flattened to the ground
on a wide run by Lynch in the 3Q.� On a
4th & 8 in the 4Q, Big LaMarr was, twice no less, knocked onto his
ass on his feeble rush attempt.� In the
4Q, Big LaMarr came in totally untouched and unblocked, and teamed
with McClendon to get a half-Dong Sack.��
On the 1st play of the 3Q, Big LaMarr eluded a weak-assed cut block by a
TE, and amble, untouched, down the LOS on a run right up the gut.� 7 yards later, Big LaMarr got a slop
stop.�

Timmons:� B+���
Harry, Farrior, Foote:� B���� Woodley:�
B-

DB:� These bumblers weren�t picked on, but much of
that was based on facing a dreg like Tarvarius.��

Leading
the way was none other than Troy Pola, who was 12 times more active and
effective than last week�s weak-assed effort.��
Pola was all over the field.....flashing up when needed and reading and
anticipating with superb command.�� The
first 3 plays the Hawks ran, Pola thwarted all of them.....a tackle on a pass
catch, and then 2 run stops.�� He also
dropped a pick 6 in the 3Q.�

Ike
continues to smother his man.��� He was
beaten on a deep out by Obamanu at 9:45 2Q, but Obo
dropped the ball.�� Other than that, Ike
was stellar all day.��

Will
Gay started in place of the injured Fadden and had a rare bust-up, batting away
a 3d & 1 pass late in the 3Q.� He had
a faggotty shirt-grab on a WR after a short grab in
the 1Q, and the WR was able to spin away and get the 1st down.�

Keenan
Lewis finally got some meaningful PT and did fine.�� Yes, it was a weak offense, but why did a
longtime struggler like McFadden just get handed the starting job on a silver platter ?� Let�s see
what Lewis can do.�� He can�t be any
worse than Gay and Fadden.��

Ryan
Clark surprisingly didn�t do anything foolish.������� B�

Spec
teams:� Not shabby.��
The coverage teams were tight and solid.��� Curtis Brown had a good solo, although he
stupidly threw a punch at a Hawk after a Steeler punt.�� Battle and Allen combined for a stop.� Worilds had a good stop on KO cover.��

Aided
by Redman�s block, Brown had a nifty 39-yard punt return in the 1Q.���

Sanders
fielded a punt on his own 3, which wasn�t bright.�� Suisham made a
20-yarder, but missed a 41-yard FG.�� Sepul boomed some punts, but boomed a few too far,
resulting in harmless TBs.�� Foote, who never was a special teamer in his
previous tenure, was flagged for an illegal block to the back on an early
punt.�� B

OC:� A week after having no answers for Suggs and Ngata,
Arians had the luxury of facing no one with even 20% of those players�
disruptiveness.�� The result was a casual
cakewalk where just about anything was working.���

It�s obvious Redman is far, far more effective in
short yardage than Mendy.�� Time for Arians to realize this as well.��

Miler
spent 3 plays doing the foolish sidecar blocking on obvious passing downs.�� That�s down from last week, but it�s still 3
happenings more than should occur.��

Although
I like Legursky as a blocking FB, I�m not fond of
removing a starting O-lineman the way Arians did today, when he moved Leggo to FB and brought in Essex.�� The positive of using Leggo
at FB is negated by the disruption to cohesion when you bring in a backup
guard, stone cold, off the bench.������ B

DC:� Dick was able, once again, to pad his stats
against a total dreg offense with a shit QB.��
Hip hiphooray !�� Quick...someone call the Hall of Fame and
see if Dick can be inducted as a coach!��
After all, he shut down TarvariusJackson !���

�� I was enraged with the numerous times that
Foote (and Farrior) was on the field in obvious passing downs.�� This is a complete mismatch, and you�re
playing TEN on 11.�� Foote, short and
slow, does nothing for the pass rush, nothing for batting passes, and is
totally incapable of covering anyone except the slowest of lumbering FBs.��� Neither he nor Farrior should be on the
field in these situations....EVER.����� B

HC:� Tommy will be all proud to get a home win
over a weak-assed team that had to fly 4,000 miles to play.� His imbecilic challenge of Mendy�s unsuccessful 4D plunge in the 1Q was rabidly
stupid.�� Sure, if it looks �50-50�,
maybe ya take a stab at a challenge.� In
this case, it was �99-1�, as in 99% of the people in the entire world would
have agreed Mendy was down before the goal line.�� Nowhere near worth the cost-benefit of
wasting a timeout.��

I�m also getting annoyed with Tommy�s
insistence at keeping Ben in the game in meaningless garbage time, which
happened for the 2nd week in a row.��
Worse today, Ben was hit twice on low blows and hobbled off the field
once.�� Yet, there we are, with a comfy
24 point lead against a shit QB and a shit offense, LATE in the game, and Ben
is still trotting out there and standing in the pocket for more
punishment.��� Really,
really asinine.���� B-��

Synopsis:� Sure, in the NFL, a win is a win is a
win.� Ya typically need 10 wins to make
the playoffs, so here�s a win.�� Still, it�s
hard to get all giddy and joyous over beating a jayvee squad as feckless and
inept as this Seahawk team.�� Next week�s
foe, the Manning-less Indy Dolts, offers every bit as feeble competition.�

(Still
Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no
one else comes close�.)